Having your own Network Marketing business and working from home definitely has huge advantages. Apart from the obvious financial benefits, you get to choose how many hours a day you are going to work, and what hours you will actually work.

However to every up side there is a down side! The downside of working from your own home can be all the distractions around you that can grab your attention and keep your eye off the ball of doing the things you really need to do to grow your business

When you have a place of work to go to, most often whatever you get done before you leave to go to work is what you get done, that’s it. Not many have the opportunity of saying okay I will go in late today so that I can finish off the chores in the garden I didn’t get done on the weekend or I will finish painting that wall before I go to the office or the shop. most employed people have clearly defined start and finish times.

However when you are at home and you are choosing your own hours, it can become very easy to say oh I’ll just get that finished and then I’ll get my business things done. So very often that “I’ll just get that finished” turns into an entire day and before you know it, it’s 6-7pm and the very things you wanted to get done to grow your business didn’t happen.

It can also be easy for friends and family to call you or call on you because they know you are at home, and even though they don’t want to take up to much of your time they drop in anyway just for a few minutes and that few minutes once again can turn into a couple of hours and there you are again 6-7pm and you haven’t done what you really need to do

The same goes for running errands when you go out to work you usually do them in your lunch break, or on the way to or from work. When you work from home it can be very easy to slip into the old I’ll just do it now and then it’s done scenario and you guessed it once again a day has gone and you haven’t achieved what you wanted to achieve.

So does it mean working from home is all gloom and doom, NO  it’s awesome! All that needs to happen is to introduce some disciplines to keep yourself focused

• Talk with your family and friends tell them the hours you plan to work each day and that you are happy to talk with them or visit with them after those hours and be firm about it.
• Shower and dress for work each morning even if your work clothes are leisure clothes (that’s just a nicer way of saying track pants)
• Set yourself a work area, if you have a home office that’s great, if not set yourself up at a table or bench where you have access to a phone and your computer
• Have a definite start time and do not allow yourself any excuses (until your income has at least reached the goal you set)
• Take specific breaks, perhaps lunch have a clear start time and finish time.
• Make a list of things you want to achieve day and achieve them. Make sure you plan time for your education each day, listening to a webinar or training call or video training.

When I first started working from home I did find it a real challenge because it seemed just easy to finish off those “little” jobs before I got started. But a few weeks of finding myself getting to the end of the week and I really had no idea what I had done soon had me looking for a solution to keep focused and to leave the distractions until after my business hours.

If you have experienced difficulties with this I can assure you it does take discipline on your part to make sure you get the most productivity out of your days, and you can do it. Just take one day at a time and celebrate each day you stay on track. It also pays to remind yourself that if you stay on track today and build your business the way you need to, you can employ someone to do those  chores in the not too distant future and how cool would that be?

Yours in Success

Linda Cargill-Selfe